At the time of writing, Alex Hales has just been dismissed for 171 after breaking the record for the highest runs by an English batsman in an ODI, overtaking Robin Smith’s 167. With England 282/2 after 37.1 overs in the third ODI, the series should be wrapped up on Tuesday.
However, by the time you read this, the fourth ODI would’ve been played out as well, with the fifth one to be played on Sunday. And barring a miracle or two, England should have taken the decisive lead in the series, if not being on the brink of a whitewash.
It is hard to criticise a team that simply isn’t good enough. Pakistan’s 9th position in the ICC ODI rankings is no coincidence and had it not been for a reshuffle in schedule, they would not have qualified for the ICC Champions Trophy. And they do not deserve to be a part of that tournament, which will be played on the same grounds where Pakistan are currently being hammered.
Chris Woakes had Sami Aslam caught behind in the second ODI
It is hard to criticise a team that simply isn't good enough
Barring Mohammed Amir - who himself has gone off the boil after a combination of dropped catches and uninspiring display of swing bowling - it is hard to see any Pakistani cricket in the current ODI setup getting anyway near the starting 11 of any of the top eight sides.
One could make the case for maybe another Pakistani fast bowler, but when Wahab Riaz is the next best pacer that we have to offer, clearly the side isn’t competent enough.
Even so, while the quality of limited-overs bowling appears to be sliding downhill, it is the Pakistani batsmen whose Stone Age displays are the biggest problem for the national cricket side right now.
Imad Wasim
In a world where 300 is below par, Pakistan simply does not have the batsmen with the ability to post totals good enough to win you ODI matches. It is not because batsmen are playing poorly, or some mental and technical tweaks are needed - it’s simply because of a lack of ability.
How does Azhar Ali open the innings for a modern-day ODI team? There’s no point getting into his captaincy credentials when his batting is not meant for limited-overs cricket.
Shoaib Malik, again, has had his moments with the bat - most of them ages ago, most of them in Asia - but he was never good enough to be the mainstay of the team’s middle order. It is telling that Pakistan’s two ‘senior most’ batsmen are spinners who converted to batting.
Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam and Sarfraz Ahmed can be a part of a progressive ODI setup but all of them have a lot to work on. Sharjeel can be explosive but isn’t reliable enough to give you regular starts, while both Sami Aslam and Babar Azam are more in the 1990s mould than in the 2010s.
Sarfraz is possibly the only one to be in any way near a modern-day 50-over batsman, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him take over the ODI side along with the captaincy in T20s, if (when) Azhar Ali is bid adieu.
Mark Wood dismisses Sharjeel Khan in the first ODI
With the complete lack of ODI talent among the batting ranks, one fears that any dismemberment of the current squad would be accompanied with the return of Ahmad Shehzad and Umar Akmal, both of whom are as much a part of the problem - and not the solution - as anyone else.
For Pakistan to become competitive in ODIs again, they would need to rethink the way limited-overs cricket is played. Somewhere between the outdated doggedness of Azhar Ali and the mindless slogging of Umar Akmal lies the answer to the kind of batsmen that Pakistan needs.
While Misbah-ul-Haq has managed to historically steer the Test team to the number 1 ranking, it is also a testament to his leadership that he managed to keep this group of limited-overs cricketers competitive for the past five years in ODIs as well. But as things stand, both the limited-overs teams - especially the ODI side - are in dire straits.
It’s going to take a while before a fresh pool of talent, equipped with modern-day technique and mentality, springs up. Till then the team management needs to sift the workable core out of the outmoded and the outlandish.
